Various cable companies in the United States – likely wanting to hold on to their stranglehold of power – are busy crunching the numbers and trying to assess the impact of what they consider to be an imminent release of an Apple TV product. This isn’t to be confused with the already-shipping Apple TV, which is more of a device to access iTunes content than to replace a full cable system.

Our discussions with industry contacts suggest that at least one major N. American MSO is working to estimate how much additional capacity may be needed for a new Apple device on their broadband data network. We believe this potentially suggests an imminent launch of the Apple TV, a positive development for ARRIS, who is directly exposed to data traffic growth from incremental IP video streams on cable networks

While Apple never reveals information about upcoming product releases, rumors have stated that Apple has internal prototypes of televisions and various other related products. It seems that Apple has been working for years on a product that could gain them a stronghold in the content and television market, but that nothing has ever been created that is good enough to pass Apple’s own rigorous internal testing. The television market is an infamously difficult nut to crack, with a few corporations controlling almost all of the power. From the UI to the content deals, a limited set of companies hold all of the cards, and Apple (and various others) have so far been relatively unsuccessful in disrupting the establishment.